Blog | Simple Living

It’s hard to let go

August 9, 2016 9 Comments

Last post I wrote about the banjo I hadn’t used but couldn’t give up. It sits back in its original place at home, propped up against the wall, still collecting dust, but still bringing a little smile to my face for whatever crazy reason. But now I’m having a hard time giving up even more stuff I don’t use – haven’t used. I thought I had it all together in the getting-rid-of-stuff department. Thought I was the expert in letting go, the expert in simple living, the one with all the answers about getting rid of what you don’t love and use. Hmm. I’m having a hard time. After my banjo, it was my grandma’s old amber glass cocktail set. I’d been storing a few boxes of these lovely things for years and never used them. But I kept them, thinking one day I’d bring them out and have a […]

Family, Home, Mindfulness, News

Purging stuff is like falling in love

July 25, 2016 2 Comments

I decided that purging stuff is like falling in love, and I just had my own experience. About ten years ago I bought a banjo because I am a huge bluegrass music fan. I imagined how fun it would be to be able to play banjo and join music jams and stuff. I took about two lessons and then life got in the way. Years passed, and I never picked up my banjo. But I also never tried to sell it. Nor did I fall out of love with bluegrass music. More years passed. The banjo was getting in my way and collecting dust. Finally I told myself I’d had enough. I wasn’t taking lessons. I wasn’t even picking up the banjo. It was definitely getting in my way, and I decided it was time to sell it. So one day, emotionless, I took it to a great place that […]

News

How to lose emotional weight

July 13, 2016 3 Comments

When I get overwhelmed by my stuff – and I can’t figure out what to do with it – I remember to use my energy question. I ask myself how I feel with regard to the thing. If the thing is a material object that I don’t love or use regularly, but I still can’t get rid of it – I ask myself how it makes me feel. This works extremely well when my mind is full of rationalizations about why I should keep it – like, “well, I paid a lot of money for this thing,” or “it was my grandmother’s thing and even though I don’t use it or love it – I should hang on to it,” or “someday I might use this thing,” and so on. As you know, you can get really bogged down by rationalizations. If you have a lot of rationalizations in your […]

Home, News, Style

How to look effortlessly chic

June 22, 2016 5 Comments

Let’s talk about style for a minute. Specifically, how to have great style when you’re not naturally good at choosing colors and keeping up with what’s current. This applies to your home decor and your wardrobe. The wardrobe answer jumped out at me from a page in a recent Vogue Magazine. You know how some people always seem to look effortlessly great? This applies to women and men. And you know how some people’s houses seem to look fresh, clean, simple and inviting? Here’s how. KEEP EVERYTHING SIMPLE. In fact, RIDICULOUSLY SIMPLE. And then both you and your home will look fabulous and effortless. SIMPLE CLOTHES TO THE RESCUE First, let me start with a man I just saw in a crowded airport. He stood out because of his pure, elegant and simple style. He was wearing a pair of great fitting jeans and a white cotton shirt. Done. He was the […]